In-home dispensers for flavored beverages have become popular in recent years. Many of these dispensers include pods or cartridges that contain a powder, concentrate, or grounds that mix with water to create a flavored beverage. These may be hot beverages such as coffee, tea or hot cocoa, or may be cold beverages such as iced tea, lemonade, or other flavored beverages. It is known to include a water filter in order to condition the water before it is mixed with the flavorant. However, the flavor of different beverages may be optimized by water having different qualities. For example, some beverages have better flavor when made with relatively hard water as opposed to relatively soft water, and vice versa.
Different types of water filters remove different elements from incoming water. Therefore, the selection of a water filter to include in a beverage dispensing system can have a significant effect on the flavor of the final beverage after it is mixed with the filtered water. Presently consumers are left to either a single filter that fits the system, or trial and error in determining what filter is best for optimizing their beverages.